Originally Posted by Cats_eye
I would have voted for Jose +10 but he is not in the list.

Among the list its a toss up between Miroslav Klose (Germany) or thierry henry (France).

For the best goal, it has to be the Argentine goal, receiving on the chest and a left footer before the ball touched the ground, far post bending (banana) shot..... Gooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal.

I was surprised actually that Henri is in the list. He did nothing but tap a simple ball in Brazilian net. He is like Rivaldo, Del Piaro - style of their club suited them more. For me it was between Zidane and Viera. The third best french player is Ribery not Henry to me.

I think you are refering the mexico goal. That was awsome. but to me the first goal of this tournament is the best individual goal

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Short Profile of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Adidas Golden Ball Candidates

Thierry Henry (France):
France provides a trio of aspirants, led by their lithe, graceful and lightning-quick striker, Thierry Henry. There had been question marks about the Arsenal captain’s performances for Les Bleus leading into the tournament, but Henry has answered his critics emphatically with a series of excellent and often-selfless performances in the lone striker role, performances that have thus far yielded three precious goals.

Patrick Vieira (France):
Also in contention from Raymond Domenech’s camp is the powerful Patrick Vieira, another player who has emerged from a hail of criticism to prove that, at his best, there are few midfielders in the world capable of dominating and dictating a game so expertly.

Zinedine Zidane (France):
The last but certainly not the least of the French candidates is Zinedine Zidane. Already a legend in his own time, this most elegant of footballers continues to amaze with his near-balletic brilliance, and there can have been few individual performances at Germany 2006 to match that produced by the 34-year-old in France’s quarter-final win over Brazil.

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy):
There will be no great surprise, certainly, at the sight of Gianluigi Buffon’s name in there, and the Juventus goalkeeper will hope that his agile, commanding and reliably inspirational performances for the Azzurri have been sufficient to see him follow in the footsteps of 2002 winner Kahn.

Fabio Cannavaro (Italy):
Italy’s captain, Fabio Cannavaro has, however, been just as important in establishing Italy’s remarkably frugal defensive record – just one goal conceded, and an own goal at that – and the 32-year-old’s faultless marshalling of the Italian rearguard is sure to make him a strong contender.

Andrea Pirlo (Italy):
The composed, creative midfield play of Andrea Pirlo has also been recognised, with the AC Milan playmaker shortlisted for his telling contribution to Italy’s attacking play from a deep-lying position.

Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy):
Another player who has contributed to the Azzurri cause both defensively and offensively is Gianluca Zambrotta, a dynamic overlapping full-back who has popped up on both the right and left flanks to score and create goals in vital matches.

Michael Ballack (Germany):
Michael Ballack, the captain and a player whose workrate and driving influence in midfield earned him the apt tag of Germany’s lokomotive by coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Miroslav Klose (Germany):
Joining Ballack in the reckoning is the man currently leading the race for another of the FIFA World Cup’s most illustrious honours, the adidas Golden Shoe. By anyone’s standards, Miroslav Klose has enjoyed a vintage tournament, with his strength, courage, eye for goal and link-up work with strike partner Lukas Podolski among the most impressive aspects of Germany’s play.

Maniche (Portugal):
This player can lay claim to having scored a couple of the tournament’s most spectacular goals against Mexico and the Netherlands. Maniche’s contribution has extended far beyond those eye-catching strikes, however, with his biting tackles and forceful running in the midfield engine room a key factor in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team's march to the semi-finals.

Originally Posted by thebest
I was surprised actually that Henri is in the list. He did nothing but tap a simple ball in Brazilian net. ...

Yes, but, think of it this way. Take out the player who you think is the best and can the team advance without him? Without Henry, Korea could have played against Italy in the finals. Most of the 1st round matches, Zidane was a no show, got regular yellow cards.

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BBC Sports Website allows their visitors to rate players during the match.
To have an idea on how other people think of the player's performance for the whole tournament, I colledcted the match rating the Golden Ball candidates received on match by match basis.

Visitors gave their Rating based on the following scale:10: Pure Perfection09: Outstanding08: Very Good07: Good06: Average05: Off Color04: Poor03: Woeful02: Embarrassingly Bad01: Give up the Game

The match-by-match rating of the player's performance are as follows:

Players

Group
Match- 1

Group
Match- 2

Group
Match- 3

Second Round

Quarter Final

Semi
Final

Average
Points

Thierry Henry (France)

5.34

7.67

8.31

6.98

8.62

7.56

7.41

Patrick Vieira (France)

4.49

6.69

8.31

8.08

8.25

7.28

7.18

Zinedine Zidane (France)

5.38

6.55

-

8.29

9.72

8.42

7.67

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)

6.57

6.53

8.31

8.06

8.55

8.28

7.72

Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)

7.00

6.38

8.22

7.96

8.44

9.11

7.85

Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy)

-

6.42

7.34

7.43

8.86

8.04

7.62

Andrea Pirlo (Italy)

7.67

6.75

7.29

7.03

7.00

8.53

7.38

Michael Ballack (Germany)

-

7.40

8.42

8.38

8.01

6.62

7.77

Miroslav Klose (Germany)

7.90

7.38

9.29

8.79

8.05

6.86

8.05

Maniche (Portugal)

6.01

6.95

8.27

8.18

6.90

6.67

7.16

Germany's Miroslav Klose is leading the table with average 8.05 point. He is followed by Italy's Fabio Cannavaro (7.85) and Germany's Michael Ballack (7.77). Our current poll leader France's Zinedine Zidane is in the 5th position with average 7.62 point.

Among these 10 candidates, lowest match score was received by France's Patrick Vieira (4.49) in their group match against Switzerland. Zinedine Zidane received the highest match score (9.72) for his performance against Brazil in Quarter Final.

Originally Posted by Banglatiger84
Those who know anything about football will not vote for Henry or Klose

It should be probably Cannavaro or maybe Pirlo

You are absolutely correct. That's why in BBC's visiting fans know nothing. Otherwise how come in their player performance rating Klose is leading by .2 ? Can in one match Fabio close that gap? I doubt it.

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The Weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the Strong." - Ghandi.

Originally Posted by Cats_eye
You are absolutely correct. That's why in BBC's visiting fans know nothing. Otherwise how come in their player performance rating Klose is leading by .2 ? Can in one match Fabio close that gap? I doubt it.

BBC fans are a very fickle lot. Often their ratings are based on emotion (i can see that some people here would vote 10/10 everytime a Brazilian player played )

Klose scored 5 goals against mediocre opposition. Cannavaro on the other hand shut down Shevchenko, Klose, the Aussies, The strong Ghana attack and also the Czech republic. He has played with 3 or 4 partners but has always shone .

General tendency is to rush and vote 10 for Klose when you see him score twice. However, the same people will think twice before voting even 8 or 9 for a defender no matter how well he played.

I am pretty sure it will be Cannavaro who wins the FIFA award unless Zidane or Henry put in an exceptional eprformance in the final.

i think Buffon should get it this yr... or Cannavaro..
this two guys bn simply awsum for Italy and shown thier worth...
Buffon, by far, the best goalie in the worldcup and certainly worths the 68 million euro that being paid for his transfer fee ( club team)

Cannavaro has been a monumental pillar not only for Italian Defense, but also has on a number of occasions came out in front and created chances for goals. Just look at the 2nd goal against Germany.

Italy has really surprised me with their attacking football this wc, and i believe one of thier players should get it. Even Pirlo has been outstanding.

on the other hand, Zidane played really good. but its been only a flash of brilliance or two from him so far in this wc, and that should not be a measuring stick for the golden watever... remember, he played crap at first two games, and the third one, he was on the bench. So it leaves him with only 1 match against Brazil where he played good. even against Portugal, he was just a regular player....

Fifa should give it to someone with consistent performance...
not to a big name...

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I think Zizou is Going to have the best retirement if France win the Wc and then he receive the Golden boot.....I think we can now put Zizoualong side all time greats as Pele,Maradona,Johan Cruff and "Kaiser"

Cannavaro has been outstanding throughout the tourney, remember Italy's opponents didnt score a single goal so far (only 1 own goal against them) so that gives a better view on Cannavaro. He has been orgainising the Italian defense from the beginning along with his presistant defending. He is truly the worlds no.1 defender at the moment. The final game will surely differentiate zizou & cannavaro
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Not conceding any goals is a great achievement. Defense would get most of the credit. However, this can not be done without a solid goal keeper. He is the final line of defense. Rather than Fabio then BUFFON Gianluigi (GK) should get the award if they win the tournament.

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The Weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the Strong." - Ghandi.